A Windswept Photography Blog
Getting Ready for Your Christmas Mini
How the Christmas Mini day works
Minis are only 15 minutes long so we're as efficient as possible in that time! I recommend only one outfit as more will eat into your session time—outfit changes usually take 5 - 10 minutes.
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Arrive 5 - 15 minutes early! You can settle into the backroom of my studio with snacks and hot chocolate to await your Mini start. This can be good for kids to relax and get used to the studio space! Any time that you are late will not be made up as Minis are back-to-back and that would take away from my next client.
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My posing guidance will have you looking & feeling amazing. Though 15 minutes seems short, it's plenty of time for us to snag a variety of gorgeous photos. I'll have you stand, sit, and possibly even lay, all depending on how you all (particularly toddlers) are feeling!
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Cool down in the backroom after your session. Feel free to hang out for a few minutes in the back room so you don't feel rushed. Having buffer time can often help kids feel more comfortable taking photos and more excited for the next time! You may be joined in the back room by my new clients awaiting their own Christmas Mini.
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Come back into the studio for your photo reveal anytime starting the day after Minis, Sunday, Dec. 1st! Rather than me choosing your final five and possibly missing your top picks, you'll get to see an entire gallery of photos from your Mini and choose your favorites. You don't have to bring the entire family back in (though they are welcome!), just whoever will be choosing your final photos.
The photo reveal
The photo reveal is when you get to see all your possible photos!
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Come back into the studio for your photo reveal. Starting the day after sessions (Dec. 1st), you'll schedule when you want to come in for a quick half-hour reveal. You and whoever's interested in choosing photos will come back into the studio to view the full gallery. We'll watch a fun video of all your final photos and then you'll choose your included five final photos! You can also purchase additional photos if you fall in love with more than five (which happens a lot!).
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Emotional expectations: Photography is an intimate artform and everyone's view of themselves is different. I tell clients to expect to LOVE 95% of the photos they see and hate 5%. It could be an angle I didn't realize you wouldn't like or a momentary expression that's not your favorite—either way, we'll skip right over that one and focus on the dozens of photos that you LOVE. (And maybe with a small reminder that I don't deliver bad photos so from a third party observer, you all look fantastic!)
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I expertly retouch each photo that you choose. You'll see a lightly edited version of your photo at the reveal and then I'll retouch them fully once chosen.
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Get your photos within 48 hours of your photo reveal! You'll receive your photos in a shareable online gallery as soon as possible within two days of your reveal. Still plenty of time to use them for your Christmas cards!
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"Can we do a virtual photo reveal?": We cannot do virtual reveals at this time, unfortunately. I've cleared my calendar in the days after our Christmas Minis to be able to schedule your reveal at a time that's best for you—I'm happy to come in early or stay late! So let me know if you'd like to chat about a different time than the ones that are available on my automated calendar.
Christmas Mini Outfit Ideas
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First and foremost, pick something comfortable. You'll want to feel totally at ease once you step in front of the camera and adjusting and fixing your outfit all the time doesn't help with confidence.
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If you want coordinating outfits, choose ones with similar colors but not necessarily identical or matching. The best way to do this would be to choose mostly neutral outfits and one color to add that pop (for Christmas, that's often red, green, or blue!).
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For example: mom could wear a dark green dress, dad could wear neutral pants and a neutral button-up, and toddler could wear neutral pants with a dark green shirt
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Check out the Pinterest board below for more ideas!
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Infinite options! You can go formal with dresses and button-up shirts or you can wear cute holiday pajamas. It's all fun and totally up to you!
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Check for stains and steam ahead of time, if needed. With 15 minute sessions, there won't be time to work to get a stain or wrinkles out so check everything at home.
My photography style and posing
My photography style is a mix of classic poses, easy prompts, and in-between candids. I want to capture the full emotion of your session while still snagging those timeless portraits that you'll want to hang up on your wall!
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I'm an expert posing coach so you don't have to worry about a thing once you step in front of the camera. I'll show and tell you exactly what to do to capture amazing photos and help everyone feel comfortable. You don't have to have any specific poses or ideas but if you do, I'm happy to try them. I can't guarantee any pose/photo that isn't my own, however.
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With kids, flexibility is key! While I always have a plan going into your session, I let the session be guided by what's most natural and what's going to get us the best photos. Ideally, we'd get a variety from standing, sitting, and even laying poses but if your toddler only wants to roll around on the ground, we'll modify to have more floor photos! If they refuse to sit down, we'll snag more standing ones. There's no point in forcing a kid to do what they don't want to do and getting grumpy photos out of it. I typically bribe with treats so if there's something in particular they love, let me know!
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Please inform me of allergies or aversions ahead of time. I'll have snacks and drink available in the studio along with other food for bribing kids so please let me know if I need to remove anything such as peanut butter.
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If you wear glasses, expect a small amount of glasses glare. I'll pose you so the glare is as minimal as possible but there will often be more during those cute candid poses. I'll edit it out of photos to a degree but it's often impossible to completely erase.
